Sith Happens
by MAmidala
Summary: After an incident involving her boyfriend, Chris Jericho, AJ Lee finds comfort in an old friend. *Some minor typos. Please ignore. I'm just as pissed as you probably are*


All right. So this is something I had an idea for out of nowhere. I liked it. I rolled with it. AJ Lee and Anakin Skywalker are my cross-over OTP, so I thought I'd make a more realistic interpretation of that.

Despite the name, this story does **not **have anything to do with the actual Star Wars movies or anything like that, only an actor **in **Star Wars.

Enjoy if you want. I did.

* * *

Clammy hands and bodies, sweat-studded foreheads, passion. Interlocking lips and promises of love and desire. Her blonde hair weaving its way through his fingers, tangling carelessly. Her sky blue-pained fingertips grazing his cheekbones, tracing his jawline.

These images hung over AJ like a big, black, rain-filled cloud, threatening to overflow at any moment and flood the streets within her brunette head. Every time she breathed in the freezing cold it made her throat feel like it was caked with ash—dry and cracked and doing nothing but a bang-up job at making Miss Lee feel more miserable.

Last night had been chilly, but AJ hadn't accounted for the cold, hard, biting snow Canada in September could surprise you with overnight—hence her bare arms and shivers racking her body.

She and her boyfriend Chris—more specifically Jericho, WWE's resident "Sexy Beast," as AJ had become very fond of calling him just to playfully jilt the Superstar—had been visiting his relatives in Vancouver, fighting the bitter, dry cold together, only a fragment of their two and a half years together. WWE also had a show that night in that very city, and Chris "needed his new attire." So he asked AJ to retrieve it from their hotel room. They were taking up room and board in Chris's cousin's place that night, so the room was unneeded. Now she might need it.

Upon returning from a not-as-long-as-Chris-had-expected journey, AJ found her doting boyfriend in the guestroom bed, the very bed the two were meant to share that night, with Kelly Kelly—WWE Diva and, up until now, AJ's close friend. She would then proceed to, only just as the blond duo came to the realization that she had entered the room, drop the spandex-filled duffel bag to the hardwood floor, run out to the front lawn, throw up her teriyaki chicken on it, and walk mindlessly in her skinny jeans, Rockin' Bones tank top, and knee-high Converse to the mile-away square of downtown Vancouver—much like a zombie. She found a bench near a bus stop and sat down on it, mulling over what she had just witnessed. Everything came at her at once, even the strong smell of Kelly's CoCo Chanel perfume returning, stuck in her nostrils, and she exhausted herself thinking about it. So much so that she keeled over in sobs on the bench and eventually fell into a tear-induced slumber until early morning, at which point she awoke a stiff, cold shell. The sky was overcast and everything was gray and white, intricate flakes of snowing decorating her hair and melting on her tan skin. She couldn't even muster up the energy to get across the street to the little dress shop to warm up.

For a good forty-five minutes to an hour now AJ has had her shaking hands clasped tightly, as if her life had depended on it, the snow flurries smacking her in the face and freezing her limbs in place. Many buses have passed and so have many concerned passersby, but AJ couldn't even make a croak to them due to the ashy, deserty feeling in her mouth and throat.

Finally, just as she had decided that she'd been overcome with hypothermia, AJ was passed by a good friend and Vancouver native. The blond nearly choked on a sip of his Starbucks as he caught a glimpse of her—cold and shaking and alone and, above all, sitting on a bench in a tank top in thirty-nine degrees.

"God! AJ?" he exclaimed, making the Puerto Rican's eyes lift to meet his sea blue ones. "What the hell are you doing?" He hurriedly pet his travel cup in the shallow, sugary snow on the ground and took off his heavy black wool coat, throwing it over the girl's shoulders. The transfer of body heat made AJ feel like her skin was on fire compared to her previous temperature.

The small noise AJ made sounded like a greeting, but was actually the first syllable of the man's name. Hayden.

AJ had met Hayden Christensen a couple years ago at a _Star Wars _convention, herself being a big fan of the movie franchise, and become fast friends. Her position as a fan for Hayden quickly turned into a position of being a close friend and confidant. However, often on different sides of the country, other times in different countries entirely, their conversations were limited to phone and Skype, but the actor would make occasional trips to Tampa, Florida to catch one of her matches at an FCW taping. Her boyfriend wasn't entirely acceptant of the friendship, being her boyfriend and all, but he seemed to deal with it.

"Here, here." Hayden positioned one of the sleeves of the woolen coat up for AJ to put her arm through, but her fingers were firmly clasped around that bench. He worked on getting each of her fingers undone for a while, saying sorry repeatedly whenever AJ would make a pained squeak. Eventually when her left hand was free, she clasped it in a stiff fist against herself. Once her hands were free, Hayden assisted in getting her arms through the sleeves and a rush of warmth came over AJ's body. She huddled in a little ball of black wool as Hayden held up the travel cup to her. "Here. You need this more than I do."

She did her best at holding the cup with her stiff fingers, but he kept some support on it as she took a scalding sip. She was inwardly thankful that they had the same taste in coffee—black with no cream or sugar—but at this point, she would accept a cup of just about anything.

"Better?" the blond asked, rubbing her back comfortingly. She nodded and let out a shuddering breath. He ran his fingers through her hair, taken over with snowflakes, to find that it was just as soft as always, not compromised by the snow other than a couple stiff, wet strands. "Now, please tell me. Why exactly are you out here? In the cold? In a tank top?"

She shook her head as she sipped more of the coffee. "I . . ." She coughed a bit and tried to regain use of her vocal cords. As she did, Hayden tied his soft checkered scarf around her neck and took off his black gloves, slowly working their way onto her hands. "But . . ."

"I live here, AJ, wearing all this stuff is practically a joke for me," Hayden waved off her objection, making a stiff smile appear on her face. In only a dark maroon v-neck sweater and dark jeans, Hayden looked amazing to AJ. She'd always thought he was very handsome, but there's something about him—the bright snow reflecting off of his eyes?—that increased that thought. She looked at him for a moment too long and looked back down at her—his—Starbucks. "So what happened?"

She inched herself closer to him for more warmth and rested the cup on her lap, the radiating heat a pleasant surprise. "Chris . . ." she choked out before hot tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. She hadn't anticipated that even just saying his name would bring forth such emotions. She clamped her eyes shut, closing the door to the tears.

"What? Did you guys fight?"

She shook her head. "He . . ." She took another sip before deciding to just suck it up and explain. She couldn't keep this poor guy out in the cold for so long, caring for her, just because she couldn't speak. "Ch . . ." But all her determination deflated as she began to say that word.

Lucky for her, it didn't take much more than that for Hayden to know what happened. He instantly wrapped his arms around her and held her against him. She sobbed into his shoulder as he kissed the top of her head, keeping her tightly in his grasp. Not letting her go. They seldom got to spend time together in person, so this was relatively strange to both of them. But their emotional connection was strong, allowing that strangeness to waft away.

"I'm so sorry," Hayden said after a long, long moment of silence. AJ shook her head and lifted her face from his shoulder.

"Don't," she said, angrily wiping a tear off of her cheek. She was angry at herself for crying about this. "I don't care."

Hayden's brow furrowed. "What?"

"No, I do, it's just . . ." Her voice sounded so small and weak that it was hard to not have your heart break for her. "She's such a . . . I thought . . . "

"Who?" Suddenly Hayden was interested as to whom exactly Chris found to be number-one on his list of MVPs last night.

"Kelly," AJ said numbly. The name made her blood boil, her skin crawl. That horrible, awful two-syllable name replayed over and over again in her head, making her feel like she was going to throw up for a second time in twenty-four hours.

Hayden couldn't think of anything to say, so he just shook his head disapprovingly. Distant as they often were, he found it impossible not to be protective of AJ. With two sisters of his own, he was wired to be overly-protective of the women in his life. His hand tightened on the black fabric covering the small of her back and he suddenly got very angry at Chris. He'd known this man—one of the nicest people you could ever meet—and to know that he broke a poor girl like this. It made _his _blood boil and _his _skin crawl.

"Okay," he said, making her look up at him again. "Since my family has taken refuge in my place and it's pretty crowded, I've decided to stay in a hotel room for today and tonight. Sounds horrible, I know, but do you want to stay with me? You could use some built-in heating and a good rest, I think."

AJ mulled this over for a bit, thinking the offer through. Eventually, she smiled and nodded. She always knew there was something special about Hayden. His superpower was being nice to everyone at every turn. No matter what. Always thinking of others before he thought of himself. As if timed by the Canadian himself, the 7:45 bus stopped in front of them.

"Perfect." Hayden helped AJ and her stiff legs stand up.

"You were just walking around at seven in the morning?" AJ asked him as they slowly made their way up the steps.

"I like morning walks." He shrugged nonchalantly, making a chuckle escape from AJ's lips.

As they took a seat near the front of the bus, AJ huddled into a ball again and said, "Thank you."

"For what?" He smiled.

"Finding me mostly," she answered, taking another meek sip of coffee. "Without you I'd probably have died out there."

"Probably. Canada and all." His small, shy attempts at conversation had always amused her. "You're gonna be okay."

It took AJ a moment to register his words as a statement and not a question. She just looked at him for a moment, studying his features. The way the left side of his lips were almost always curled up in a smirky half smile. His strong jawline. The cleft in his chin.

"Thanks," she said. She felt like she should say more, but nothing else came to mind, so she just looked out the window as the bus began to move.

* * *

Upon the pair's arrival at the building Hayden's hotel room was in, AJ was momentarily jilted that was the same building she and Chris were booked at. Really, though, she wasn't going to protest. It wasn't as if Chris would even be there, having his cousin's place. She wondered if his cousin knew what he'd done. When she stood up, she realized that she was still very stiff and very tired, so it was an effort to make it across the slippery sidewalk and into the threshold of the hotel without clinging to Hayden's sweater-clad arm.

The second she stepped onto the shiny gold-tiled floor of the lobby, she let out a sigh at the rush of heat she felt. The remaining snow in her hair melted as they made their way to the elevator. The ride up was filled with snickering laughter at the woman in her twenties wearing only a tube top and a mini skirt. "I don't think she's been cold all night," Hayden had whispered in AJ's ear, initiating the inappropriate spree of hushed comments and giggles. For a moment, anyway, AJ felt as though Chris never cheated on her.

The two quickly made their way to Hayden's room then, AJ anticipating a typical room that you'd get in a rush when your family has taken refuge in your place for the weekend and you need somewhere else to crash. That's not what she saw.

The room was practically a suite. A main room with a pristine white couch and flat screen TV. At least three doorways leading to different sections of the place. The colors were warm—sunset oranges and dark browns.

"Wow," AJ said. "This is . . . big."

"Sure is," Hayden agreed, smiling at the place. "Makes me wonder why my sisters aren't staying here."

"It's just your sisters at your place?" AJ gingerly set the travel cup down on the granite counter in the relatively small kitchenette.

"Them and my mom." He shook his head grimly at her. "I can't take that."

AJ laughed. Things were easy around Hayden. She didn't feel as if there was any pressure while talking to him.

They then proceeded to strip AJ of the outerwear, leading her to the discovery that the snow from earlier had soaked her shirt and made her denim jeans nearly intolerable—some would say frozen, but she wouldn't go that far.

"I'll get you some clothes." Hayden directed her to the bedroom and had her sit down on the bed as he searched through his suitcases. She objected out of politeness, but he wasn't having it. There was something endearing about this to her. "Here." He walked back over to her with a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain black shirt with long sleeves. "I hope that's okay."

"It's perfect," she replied, standing up straight, albeit it didn't make much of a difference height-wise compared to her counterpart. Standing at a little over six feet, Hayden towered over AJ's tiny, almost five feet frame. Something about the look in AJ's eyes when she noticed that her head only reached just below his shoulders—momentary bewilderment, split-second confusion—made Hayden laugh. "What?" AJ couldn't help but smile.

"Nothing, nothing." He shook his head and waved her off. She pursed her lips. "Go change, you're shaking like a leaf."

She was. AJ was still freezing cold; she missed his woolen coat. She gave him a military-esque nod as she retreated to the bedroom's adjacent bathroom, which was almost as big as the bedroom itself. Both her Converse and her jeans were stiff and a project to get off, so she took a bit longer than she'd anticipated. But once she felt the soft fabric of Hayden's clothes on her skin, her mood turned right around. Once she had the shirt on, she wrapped her arms—encased in the thick oversized sleeves—around herself and let out a sigh. She pulled the hem of the shirt further down to hide how much the sweatpants didn't want to cooperate, even when tied as tightly as they would be tied, and opened the door. She walked a few feet out to be met by her friend with a very hot mug of tea in his hands. In the lighting, his hair was more brown than anything. His semi-long curls were only made blond by the overcast light outside.

"Here." He held out the dark gray mug to the brunette with both of his hands. "It'll warm you up in a jiffy."

"Thank you," AJ said, genuinely thankful for the brew. She took a large sip, feeling the warm liquid take immediate effect. There was an adding backward hint of sweetness in the tea that made AJ smile warmly. "That's delicious."

"Honey." Hayden playfully pinched her chin and made her laugh.

"You need to stop," she laughed, shaking her head.

"Stop what?" Hayden made a face that looked as though she'd punched him. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Cheering you up? I thought that was what I was supposed to do."

The fact that she needed to be cheered up only made AJ frown. The images came back in a flash and she shut her eyes tightly, hanging her head. She made an involuntary whimpering sound and almost immediately felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. She shook her head. "I just don't . . ."

"Neither do I," he said, very matter of fact. "You deserve so much better."

His statement and his sureness of himself caught her off-guard. She looked up at him, her eyes watery. "What?"

"I mean it," he said, moving his hands to her shoulders and looking at her eyes very hard. "Chris is an ass, I hope you realize that."

AJ laughed. She laughed harder than she thought she ever would. Her laughing made him smile, but the motions of it made the tears spill out of her eyes. Hayden quickly wiped them away with his warm thumbs and kissed AJ's forehead. It wasn't a romantic kiss, or even anything remotely suggestive. It was sign of comfort, of friendship. It made butterflies appear in AJ's stomach and she took in a sharp breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she answered quickly. "I'm just tired."

"Okay, come here." She quickly protested when he offered the bed to her, but just as quickly, he denied. "You need to sleep."

"Well, I guess, but—" She sat down on the down-turned bed more or less against her will.

"No, shut up."

She was taken aback, but complied. She set down her tea on the nightstand and got under the comforter. Her skin was a high temperature now, but her core was still icy cold. It was a dull, painful cold and she couldn't shake it no matter what. She only felt tendrils of warmth run through that dull, painful cold when Hayden lightly kissed her forehead comfortingly. It was practically only a brushing of his lips, but it was enough to make AJ's eyes jerk up to meet his.

"Sleep well," he said, smiling down at her as he stood.

AJ smiled. She watched him leave and, after he did, she felt like she could sleep for days.

* * *

She woke up a few hours later. Underneath Hayden's shirt she felt sweaty. But also warm, so she didn't dare come up from under the covers. Upon rubbing the sand from her eyes she she noticed that it was dark except for an ugly lamp resting on the dresser on the opposite wall. In the yellow light she saw Hayden standing in the wide doorway to the small balcony just outside the room. For a second, she was surprised. But then she saw that the looked on his face was rather strained and figured he was either worrying about her or thinking about something very intently. Either way, she didn't feel as though he'd be a threat to her safety.

"How long did I sleep for?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair and pushing it all to her left side.

"Well, it's about nine, so . . ." He tilted his head up and swirled around what looked like white wine in the tumbler in his hand, doing the math in his head. "Thirteen hours?"

AJ's eyes got big. "What?"

"That's what I thought." He gave her a look and shrugged his shoulders, making her smile. He made yet another shy, small attempt at conversation with, "Warm?"

She blinked at him. "What? Oh!" I tucked her hair behind her ears and patted her cheeks casually. "Yep. I'm warm." Yet, despite her answer, that dull cold still lingered in the pit of her stomach. She noticed the tumbler as he took a small sip from it. "You drink?"

"Sometimes." He shrugged again, glancing out to the balcony as a loud ambulance, its siren turned up to full volume, zoomed past. "That was loud."

It was small things like that, his observations of the obvious, that made AJ like him more than her other guy friends. He was also the only one who hadn't ever made a suggestive comment towards her, largely influenced by him being engaged up until very early this year. His relationship with Rachel had been a messy one. They'd met on the set of one of his movies—_Jumper_, AJ thought it was called—and it was love at first sight. Though it didn't last.

The small window of silence was slammed shut as AJ remembered she had her phone in her pocket. In her rush last night and her frozen stillness this morning, she had completely forgotten she had the device with her. Her remembrance of the phone was influenced by the loud, default ringtone. She jumped out of her skin at the loud, very obnoxious chorus of beeps, letting out a small shriek that conveyed panic. Hayden only laughed.

"Oh, shut up," she mumbled, wrestling the phone out of her pocket. As her still sleepy eyes, stung by the bright screen, gazed down on the caller ID, any sense of humor about the situation was thwarted.

CHRIS, it read.

Out of nowhere, AJ pulled her arm back behind her head and chucked the phone across the room. It landed a rough landing next to Hayden's feet, making him jump a very ballerina-like jump away from it. As AJ buried her face in her hands, Hayden picked up the phone.

"Oh, look who it is!" he said cheerfully, pressing ACCEPT CALL. AJ looked up, her eyes watery. "Hey, guess what? Go to hell and suck on a stalactite!" He hung up and tossed the phone back onto the bed. "I'd delete that number. And block it."

AJ just looked at him as he leaned his knee on the foot of the bed. She didn't know how to react. On the one hand, she was curious as to what exactly Chris had to say in such a delayed call. On the other hand, she wanted to thank Hayden for preventing such an awful conversation. On another, she wanted to laugh.

So she settled on, "I need some air."

She threw the covers off of herself and hurried past the brunet/blond, retreating to the balcony. She caught herself on the railing and took in a deep breath of air. She opened her eyes after a moment and her breath caught at how high up she was. She watched the cars zoom past each other and the lights from the buildings aside this one glow and flicker. She shook her head and wrapped her fingers tightly around the steel railing.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded at the voice behind her, soft yet raspy and a bit monotone. She may have nodded, but she didn't feel okay; not completely.

"I think." She reopened her eyes and took another deep breath. "It's just . . . it's just a lot to take in all at once. I'm okay." Her voice was forcefully even and wooden.

"I understand completely," Hayden said, setting the tumbler down before taking a couple steps out onto the balcony. "What you're going through, I . . . I understand."

It's true; he did. He'd been through a similar situation with Rachel, thus ending their engagement. Only he didn't have the misfortune of seeing it happen.

"Thank you," AJ said, nodding some more. Her hands slid down the railing, making her chest come closer to it. She shook her head. "Is it because of me?"

Hayden's brow furrowed. "What?"

She turned around then, quickly wiping away a tear that was rolling down her right cheek. A breeze kicked up her hair and she sniffled. "Did he do this because of me?" Her voice was hoarse and catching often. "Because I don't know why, and . . . I can't shake this feeling that it's because of me!" She sobbed once before continuing. "There's no reason! I can't think of a single reason why he would do this! So . . . by that logic . . . it's me, isn't it?"

"No," Hayden said very softly, shaking his head. He took a couple big steps up to her and pulled her into him. As he stroked her hair, he said, "It's not your fault, AJ. It's not. Don't blame yourself for a mistake of his own. It's his problem . . . not yours." He pulled her face out of his sweater and wiped her tears away from under her eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted in a sympathetic smile. "Don't undermine yourself. You're obviously better than he is and you should never think otherwise. Never."

She sniffled again and looked into his eyes for a long time. His light brown curls shook a little in the wind, framing his face beautifully. She then came to a realization.

"You really think that?" she asked, her voice surprisingly even. His eyes sparkled as he nodded. "Um . . . thank you." She couldn't think of anything else to say to that. Such a big speech from him and all she could say in return was _thank you_.

She pulled away from him and went back to the railings, taking another few deep breaths. She tried hard to see if her realization was true or false. True. The word and his face kept on flashing in turns in her head. "Promise me you won't take this the wrong way."

"Take what the wrong way?"

She turned to him in a light jog and pulled his face up to hers, pressing her lips against his. At first the kiss was awkward, as any kiss between friends is. But after a moment, they became accustomed to each other's lips and each other's patterns. Hayden's tongue pushed AJ's lips apart and he put a tight grip on her hips, pulling her closer to him. She grabbed his sleeves tightly as he kissed her jawline, making butterflies in her stomach surface. He tilted her head back by kissing the crook of her neck. The pair backed up to the railing as their lips mingled again, AJ's back leaning over the edge dangerously. The kiss became more intense, more passionate. In the kiss, more tendrils of warmth coursed through AJ, making her feel better than she had in practically a day. She pulled away slightly, resting her hands on Hayden's neck, her lips a little swollen.

"How exactly would I take that the wrong way?" Hayden asked, his hands resting on her ribs.

She licked her lips, tasting his honey-flavored chapstick on them. "A couple different ways."

"I promise I'll use none of them." He looked at her with a very intense look as he said that.

This time, he was the instigator of the kiss. Strong and powerful, AJ was taken aback. His tongue again pushed her lips apart, his hands dug gently into her back, pulling her closer. For this moment, she'd forgotten all about Chris and his entirety. She felt completely warm inside.

* * *

Lips intermingling, an exchange of breath and saliva out on a hotel balcony in the breeze, smelling of gasoline, tea, and raw snow. Hands exploring bodies, fingers tangled in hair. A glass of numbing, warming bourbon accidentally dropped off the edge of the adjacent balcony and shattering on the pavement below it.

Chris thought that retreating back to his hotel room—after his cousin kicked him out after discovering he was in bed with none other than Kelly Kelly, a fellow WWE wrestler—would leave him some time to think things through. To clear his mind. But instead he was met with his girlfriend—more aptly ex-girlfriend—in the adjacent balcony.

She wasn't alone.

As Chris looked on at the sight, watching as the two kiss intently, AJ dressed in oversized clothing, in another man's hotel room. He knew. Only he didn't.

He kicked the metal railing hard as he retreated back into his room, slamming the door shut so hard the frame shook. He stomped into the kitchen and found a glass, throwing it as hard as he could against a wall. The shattering glass was satisfying, but he wouldn't stop until every single glass he could find in there was gone and in a pile on the floor. Doing his best at blinking away the hot tears forming in his eyes, he picked up his phone and deleted her number without a second thought. Practically tore open his wallet and took out the picture of her, tearing it in half and again. He threw the bits of paper on the floor and kicked them away. He didn't feel as sad as he did just a moment ago. What he felt was pure hatred. Hatred towards the girl who had another man answer her phone, who was kissing that same man in blatancy.

He picked up his phone and forcefully typed a number in. After only one ring, it was answered. Halfway through the other end's greeting, he cut her off with, "Kelly, I need to talk to you. Now. Please."

* * *

Wow. Okay. So I wrote that in a couple afternoons xD I...don't even know. Leave a review if you like :)


End file.
